I thought of others upon whom I had relied over the years and I suddenly understood from where my sadness sprang. For the first time in my life I had no woman with whom I could share life’s experiences, or in whom I could confide my insecurities or deepest secrets. It was as if a part of my heart was now walled off, for how can a man understand the workings of a woman’s heart? Could a man ever feel the tug of our monthly cycle or the fullness of a breast ready to suckle? What man could experience the depths of tenderness that a woman does or allow himself to feel the desperate despair of another’s afflictions?
Herneith now sat with Horus and Wadjet. Ti-Ameny’s ka wandered in the dark, cold mists of Nun. Nubiti was a pariah, an evil mut who had pierced me to my core. I shuddered with the realization that I was close to no other woman with whom I could laugh or cry, listen and share. Gone were the conversations about our men and children, the gossip about our friends and relatives. I felt my tears run down my cheeks and a profound sense of loneliness descend into my ba. Thus I spent the rest of the morning, postponing my morning bath until my resolve returned and I began to feel my mood improve.
The tightening cordon around Lower Kem eventually did produce information. One bit came to my attention after four ten-days of negotiations, when Amka called one of his regular meetings to update me.
“We know Zenty was not taken out of Lower Kem,” he said once we had begun. “One of our traders to the western lands passed a large bribe we had given him to the Ta-Tjehenu tribes. They swear they had no part in his abduction. They only recently heard of it, although they smack their lips in anticipation. There are also no reports of even small bands of rebels stationed anywhere within the eyes and ears of our Horus temples.”
“So what new have we learned?” I asked, desperate for any information that would bring back my son.
“There is something to report, but I caution you it is just rumor at this point.”
“Rumor important enough to bring to my attention,” I said.
“Yes. It is worrisome.” Amka paused and I knew that he feared telling me. “Do you recall many years ago, toward the end of the great drought, Nubiti unexpectedly took a long tour of the temples of Isis. She claimed to be doing an assessment of the need for new temples should Mother Nile bring good floods.”
“I vaguely recall that, yes,” I said. “She was gone for what... half the year?”
“There is a rumor that we heard from an Apep priest, unsubstantiated, that Nubiti was with child and gave birth while she was away.”
“Oh, Horus, that… that is…I cannot believe that is true!” I said, shocked to my core. “To not know that Nubiti had a child…”
“A son,” Amka interrupted. The import of that one fact hit me harder than a physical blow. I gasped. I noted that even Herihor blanched.
“I need not tell you what that means,” Amka said.
“If anything were to happen to Zenty, Nubiti’s son would be in line for the throne,” Herihor said, shaking his head in disbelief. “If this proves true, it adds a motive to recent events, doesn’t it?” We sat there quietly, each of us absorbing what this disclosure might mean for us and for the Two Lands.
“How old would he be?” I asked.
“Nine or ten by our estimates,” Amka responded. “Old enough to be immersed in training for whatever role they have visioned for him.”
“Why haven’t we known of this before?” I asked.
“If what we hear is true, then the Apep priesthood must have a central role in his rearing,” Amka said. “They are a highly secret sect. It is almost impossible to penetrate them. I have told you this before, Meryt. The Horus priesthood basks in Ra’s light, while the Apep priesthood hides in the dark recesses of the Underworld.”
That afternoon I paid a visit to the Temple of Isis, for due to Nubiti’s role it had been years since I had last prayed there. My King’s Guard escorts waited outside while I entered the enclosure where the acting Head Priestess, a loyalist from Upper Kem, greeted me warmly. We talked for a brief time and then she left me in the inner chamber. There the statue of Isis stood, full with her loving ka.
I bowed low before my heavenly sister and knelt in front of the brazier. The glowing embers cast a warm glow on Isis’ face. I watched her eyes flicker for a moment, before I closed my eyes.
“Dear Isis,” I prayed, “Please let me feel your sweet softness in my ka, for I fear my heart is becoming hard from the scars of leadership and ill fortune. Did I so wrong my sister, Nubiti, your servant? If so, please illuminate my heart so that I may correct my errors.” I sat waiting, but nothing came, not a glimmer of recognition, not a tingle of warmth in my heart.
From the Temple of Isis I asked to be taken to the Temple of Horus, where Amka greeted me on the steps. As weak as I felt, I noted that Amka had even more difficulty climbing the stairs. He leaned heavily on his staff and his breathing was labored.
I had asked Amka to prepare an herbal for me to better relax in Horus’ presence, for my desire was to thank him for carrying me aloft in my dreams and for revealing to me the threats and hopes for Kem. Before entering the inner sanctum, Amka sat with me for perhaps thirty minutes and we discussed Horus’ relation with our dynasty as I drank the tea he had prepared.
When I emptied my cup, I felt a lightness in my heart such as I had not experienced for many years. My aches disappeared and I felt a deep sense that my heart had enlarged greatly within my chest. As we entered the inner sanctum, Amka kissed me on the cheek and wished me well.
I remember gazing up at Horus as I entered the room. The fire burned brightly and cast such shadows on him it seemed as if he moved to greet me. I immediately humbled myself and lay prostrate before his penetrating, all-knowing falcon eyes.
As I came back up to sitting I felt the immensity of Horus’ power in his gaze. I sat cross-legged, relaxed by Amka’s herbs and in only a moment I felt sucked into Horus’ ka. I looked out through his eyes at my form sitting meditatively before him.
We did not soar into the heavens then. In fact we never left the temple. But for the first time I experienced Horus from within his own body. It was an encounter with power that I would never have imagined.
Gone were my insecurities, the self-doubts, the questioning of my own judgment. Instead I experienced the feeling of pure and just power surging within. It was not a haughty or even a giddy sense of unchecked power, but rather a fullness of purpose legitimized by Horus’ divine authority. I basked in a glow that radiated from within. When I left the temple Amka himself noted a profound change in my ba.
And so, I acted. By then Herihor and Tepemkau had traced the messages and messengers to their source. It came as a surprise to them, for the source was a rekhi neighborhood in the busy town of Dep itself. But instead of soldiers standing guard, they disguised themselves as ordinary citizens and posted watches from surrounding houses.
This news came to me in an odd way. Herihor mentioned to me that he had recruited some able women as soldiers in his elite rescue unit, a practice unknown to our army. I later found out that the only way our forces could gain access to the neighborhood was to infiltrate it with innocent-looking women, posing as roving merchants selling reed baskets and trinkets. Once they determined the likely house where Zenty was being held, we were ready to strike.
Our negotiations with Khnum’s representatives had reached a critical stage. We had agreed in principle to grant Lower Kem greater autonomy, a transparent attempt on their parts to force a wedge into Unification. We also agreed in principle to transfer a certain amount of gold and silver into their treasury. In the midst of Proyet, with barley and flax just beginning to emerge from the ground, a force of soldiers sailed from Inabu-hedj, the boats supposedly laden with the treasure. They were to meet up with a similar delegation of rebels near the shallows of Merimda. Unknown to the rebels, our surreptitious forces, led by Herihor himself, had already infiltrated the area around Dep. The women members of the unit had been in place for a ten-day prio
r to their arrival.
On the day before the transfer of treasure was to take place, my negotiators had arranged a meeting with their counterparts. On a large barge in the middle of Mother Nile, our people gave a good will gift to each of the opposing negotiators. To much drinking and merriment the Delta schemers toasted our good sense in agreeing to their demands. They also hinted at the fact that there were a few other demands that they had unintentionally neglected to bring up. We would be required to meet all of them in order for them to release Zenty. They agreed to bring them to the table in another day or two.
That very night we struck. Over the course of the preceding week, the women had determined precisely the house in which Zenty was being held. Under the cover of night, dressed in revealing robes, they paraded in pairs as whores in the neighborhood. Their supposed customers received a whole lot less sex than they bargained for and soon the lookouts were eliminated.
Herihor had already replaced the guards normally stationed on the parapets of the walls with his own warriors that night, for it was well known that the regular army guards were bribed. On a pre-arranged signal the women approached the house.
Immediately shouting erupted and men emerged from the house to shoo the women away. Our women soldiers had been trained to argue and cause confusion and soon nearly twenty rebels, dressed as poor rekhi, were outside yelling and beating the women. It was at that moment that Herihor attacked.
From the houses nearby Herihor and his men rushed into the narrow street. The rebels were shocked to see themselves surrounded by armed warriors. They tried to rush back into the house, but Akori and his King’s Guards cut them off. The women quickly slid their daggers into their nearest opponent. In seconds the fight on the street was over and every last rebel lay dead or mortally wounded on the ground.
Akori and a contingent of his guards burst into the house where a dozen armed rebels stood ready to fight. When they saw Akori’s resolve, several surrendered and others dashed out the back door. Due to the restricted space, Herihor’s unit could not enter.
In a back room, the captain of the rebels held Zenty in front of him as a shield, a dagger poised across his neck. Zenty’s hands were bound behind him. “I’ll kill him. I swear to Apep I will!” the captain shouted. “Back off!”
Herihor entered the house and held up his hand. “Stay your weapons!” he called out. To a man they held their daggers to their sides. “You heard the man, back off!” Slowly they retreated out of the room, yet stood hidden on either side of the door, weapons ready.
Zenty stood nearly half a cubit shorter than his captor and half his weight, too. Yet Herihor later reported that Zenty did not appear the least bit frightened, only alert. His eyes were riveted on Herihor, trying to read in the face of his instructor any clue as to what he should do. Herihor’s face was expressionless.
The rebel leader was agitated and his eyes shifted constantly to gauge his position. Finally, Herihor spoke.
“I am Herihor, Chief of the King Meryt-Neith’s Army. I know you’re wondering what to do, what your options are, perhaps even what’s the right thing to do. I won’t insult you with lies, for we are both warriors and you… you must be a fervent believer in your cause if you’re a leader of these rebels.” The man’s eyes were opened wide and he breathed hard. Herihor waited for his words to register on the agitated captain.
“We both know you hold the future of the Two Lands in your hands,” he said without emotion. “From your position you know what the right thing to do is. Kill the boy and be done with it.” The man tightened his grip on the dagger and a small stripe of blood appeared on Zenty’s neck.
“But hear me well, sir, whose name I do not yet know. Either way you’re a dead man and we both know that. The question is whether you’ll doom your wife and children to a grisly death or not. If you kill that boy,” he said without emotion, pointing casually at Zenty with his dagger, “I will personally, and happily, gut your children one by one as your wife watches and leave them in the desert for the vipers and jackals to dine on. Then I’ll do the same to her before I cut her into pieces and scatter her parts.” Herihor watched the man swallow hard.
“I’ll have your entire extended family present to watch them die and then I will kill every one of them, too.” Here he paused. “Do you understand me?” The man remained paralyzed. “With no heirs your name will be stricken from the Book of Life.”
Shouts could be heard outside the house and the rebel knew that his leaders had sent reinforcements. He sweated profusely and nervously tightened and loosened his grip on the dagger as he tried to weigh his options. His legs shook in fear.
Then Herihor looked at Zenty directly for the first time and shifted his eyes slightly to his right. Herihor turned his head and yelled out to his men: “To the street!” And in that instant Zenty spun to his right and pinned the man’s forearm in the crease of his neck. At the same instant Herihor also spun around and threw his dagger at the rebel’s exposed neck. In a burst of blood the man collapsed immediately.
Herihor rushed forward, pulled the blade from the dead man’s neck, cut the cords that bound Zenty and gave him his dagger. “Well done!” he said. By now the entire King’s Guard was in the room. “Surround our future King. Every man’s life to his service!” Herihor called out.
In the street ram’s horns sounded. More and more of our soldiers filled the street and the winding alleyways that fed it. Herihor had foreseen the possibility of a larger battle and had assembled his men under cover of night in the drainage ditches that surrounded the city. Now they poured into the walled city just as Khnum’s ragtag rebel army charged their position.
It was immediately obvious that the rebels were well trained in hand-to-hand combat. Herihor’s regular soldiers wielded heavy swords and long spears, both of which proved useless in the restricted environment and the poor lighting of a night with only a sliver of Ra’s silver disk in the sky. The enemy quickly threw heavy objects from nearby houses into the path of our advancing soldiers, blocking their paths and causing mayhem and confusion. As the army’s unit discipline broke down, the rebels attacked from side alleys or leapt upon them from the second story of the mud-brick houses.
As soon as Herihor and Zenty stepped outside they found their entire elite unit besieged by rebels. The unit fought with daggers and small shields that were strapped to their forearms, but the rebels fought fervently. They did not appear to have a leader and Herihor seized the moment.
“Itafe!” he shouted to the leader of the army unit. “Turn your men around and clear us a path to the gates!”
As Herihor’s unit began to adjust, Herihor and Akori picked three men to help them hold off the rebels massing behind them. The fighting was so close, men resorted to punching or throwing their enemy into a headlock while a comrade delivered the mortal blow. In that moment, Herihor thought to himself that they had seriously miscalculated the strength of the rebel forces and he silently cursed himself for not bringing with him more specially trained troops. As he ran to the rear, a rebel suddenly appeared in the window above and leaped out at Herihor.
Zenty was not involved directly in the fighting, surrounded as he was by the King’s Guard. Instead he keenly observed the battle around him and noticed a rebel furtively watching from the upper floor of the house across the street. Then he saw Herihor take off, his gold armband plainly visible on his bicep as it reflected the meager light from Ra’s silver disk. As he later told it to me, it was as if Horus traced for him the intersection of the two fighters.
And so Zenty bolted through the double line of King’s Guard soldiers and reached Herihor just as the rebel jumped. He greeted the man with the blade of his dagger in the abdomen and both fell to the ground behind Herihor. The rebel struggled to get to his feet, but one of the King’s Guards in pursuit of Zenty quickly finished him off. For a moment Zenty stood in place staring at his first kill in battle.
“Quickly,” Herihor shouted in his ear. “Retrieve your knife and
follow me!” With Herihor and Akori beside him and the King’s Guard behind and in front, Zenty fought with them as a unit. Though slightly wounded, as were Herihor and Akori, he continued to fight until they made their way through the gates of Dep and the advantage of an open field.
But Horus had devised yet another test for Zenty, one far more difficult than a pack of rebels. No sooner had they burst through the gates of Dep, leaving rebel casualties heavy behind them, than they were surprised to find their own regular army troops in battle. In the dark of night it was impossible to make out who was fighting whom, but from the high-pitched war cries of the attackers there was no doubt in Herihor’s mind that they faced Ta-Tjehenus.
“They attack on two fronts!” Nekau yelled toward Herihor. Due to his immense size and black color Herihor had positioned him outside with the regular army. “The Ta-Tjehenu come from the north,” he said pointing. “Another group attacks from the east, but I have no idea who they are.”
In the distance the sounds of men fighting, screams of bravado and agony, could be heard all around. Herihor ran back towards the gates to command a better view.
“Akori, take the King’s Guard, all of them except for these here, and protect the western flank. Remember the lessons on fighting the Ta-Tjehenu. Create two attack wedges and drive through their ranks. As soon as they are attacked from the rear they will run. Go!”
Throughout, Herihor made certain Zenty was beside him. “Can you hold out?” Herihor asked, taking Zenty’s left arm and examining the superficial cut. Zenty nodded. Herihor swiftly grabbed the tunic of one of the King’s Guards, ripped off a strip, and wrapped Zenty’s arm.
“Brothers,” he shouted, looking into the eyes of each of the dozen men who now faced him, “you are each known to me for I’ve trained you and we’ve fought bravely in battle together. I’m entrusting you with the future King of the Two Lands.” He grabbed Zenty by the arm and pushed him into their midst.
The Dagger of Isis (The First Dynasty Book 2) Page 32
